UAE Sheikh's Stake in Trump Bank

David Schamis of Hyperliquid Strategies | BitGo Acquires NYDIG's Trading Unit

Marco Manoppo & Karon Pangestu
August 28, 2026

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Good Morning,

As World Liberty Financial edges closer to a US bank charter, its ownership structure reveals how deeply foreign state capital and White House family interests have become intertwined in America's crypto infrastructure.

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In Today's Email:

What Matters: UAE Sheikh's Stake in Trump Bank 👀
Founders Highlight: David Schamis of Hyperliquid Strategies 👨
Deal Flows: BitGo Acquires NYDIG's Trading Unit 💰️

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Narratives: Crypto-Political Entanglement

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WHAT MATTERS

UAE Sheikh's Stake in Trump Bank

State of play: Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed al Nahyan and co-investors hold a 49% stake in the holding company World Liberty Financial created to pursue a US bank charter, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Tahnoon, the UAE's national security advisor, holds the stake via a separate entity called StringZ Holding RSC.
The bank would let WLF expand services around its USD1 stablecoin, which has a $4B market cap.
The White House denied any conflict of interest amid renewed scrutiny of Trump family ties to Abu Dhabi royalty.

Why it matters: A UAE national security official now holds a near-majority stake in a venture tied to the sitting US president's family, deepening questions about foreign influence over US crypto policy.

Our take: The OCC's approval process is moving forward despite the conflict-of-interest concerns, suggesting regulators aren't treating the ownership structure as a blocker.

For builders and investors: Watch how this shapes scrutiny of stablecoin issuers with political ties, as it could invite tighter disclosure rules across the sector.

BUILDER-INVESTOR HIGHLIGHT

David Schamis of Hyperliquid Strategies

Intro: David Schamis is the CEO of Hyperliquid Strategies, a digital asset treasury company that accumulates and manages HYPE.

Previous background: David Schamis spent over two decades in financial services before Hyperliquid Strategies, including 14 years at J.C. Flowers & Co. and, since 2014, as Founding Partner of Atlas Merchant Capital.

He also held board roles at Crump Group and Symetra Financial, and began his career at Salomon Brothers.

The big idea: David build Hyperliquid Strategies to serve as a publicly-traded corporate crypto treasury firm dedicated entirely to accumulating, holding, and staking HYPE.

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INSIGHTS

Ethena Proposes ENA Buyback Fee Switch

Ethena Foundation announced four ecosystem changes addressing investor unlocks and protocol value, including buying out certain seed investors' locked ENA tokens and proposing a fee switch for token buybacks.

The foundation bought all unvested ENA from seed investors who had sold since October 2025, removing their future sell pressure.
Monthly investor unlocks will end, with remaining tokens released at once starting October 5, leaving about 12% of supply locked.
Ethena Foundation and Ethena Labs reached an agreement to assign protocol IP and economic value to the foundation rather than Labs equity holders.
The proposed fee switch would direct 95% of net revenue toward ENA buybacks once USDe supply hits a milestone.
The framework agreement is expected to be published in October, alongside the launch of "Ethena X" next week.

DEAL FLOWS

BitGo Acquires NYDIG's Trading Unit

Deal flows slowed down this week - we saw $65M+ in deals 💼

BitGo has completed its acquisition of NYDIG's institutional trading business, aiming to expand its derivatives and financing offerings for institutional clients. About 30 NYDIG employees joined BitGo along with their trading relationships.

The deal brings NYDIG's derivatives, structured products, financing, and capital markets solutions under BitGo's institutional platform.
BitGo CEO Mike Belshe said the move supports a full asset lifecycle, from custody and trading to financing and settlement.
NYDIG will redirect its resources toward power generation, bitcoin mining, and high-performance computing data centers.

Deal flows in the past week:

City Protocol, $4M pre-Series A Round
RQD* Clearing, $74M Growth Equity Round
Chomp, $3.6M Unknown Round
ElfomoFi, $500,000 Unknown Round
Roostoo, $500,000 Unknown Round
D0, $500,000 Unknown Round
Primus Labs, $500,000 Unknown Round
xAPI, $500,000 Unknown Round
Nxos, $500,000 Unknown Round
Aile, $500,000 Unknown Round
Nara, $500,000 Unknown Round
XHunt, $500,000 Unknown Round
Nexroute, $500,000 Unknown Round

QUICK BITES

BitGo buys NYDIG's institutional trading business.
Dunamu and Visa partner on stablecoin, AI business.
UAE ‘spy sheikh’ takes 49% stake in Trump family’s bank venture.
Ethena Foundation proposes fee switch for ENA token buybacks.
Investors at least $4.7B underwater across Trump crypto ventures.
Chainalysis says global crypto taxable activity topped $457B in 2025.
PURR jumps 15% as Hyperliquid Strategies updates $1.9 billion HYPE treasury.
Annual UK tax data shows 240 people reported +£1M in crypto capital gains.

NOTEWORTHY READS & MEME

Shaunda’s read on Onshoring Hyperliquid.
Jonah’s read on You Were Lied to About Stablecoins.
Rain’s read on The Anatomy of a Stablecoin Card Swipe.

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Disclaimer: All the information presented in this publication and its affiliates is strictly for educational purposes only. It should not be construed or taken as financial, legal, investment, or any other form of advice.